Monday, July 21, 2014

Oregon Country

EVERY SUMMER I like to feature at least one post of photos from an Oregon outing. This year there haven't been very many outings, I'm afraid. But yesterday my hubby Steve, one of my daughters and I took at short drive to McDonald Forest. How lucky are we to have nature within 5 minutes of our front door? 

Our first stop was this newly discovered (to us anyway) lake. The Queen Ann's Lace had just started blooming and juxtaposed with the spiky, tawny native grasses, it was a spectacular sight. 

I don't know the species of this pine but it looked really nice perched in this field.


I know, I know... it's a weed. But it's pretty.

My daughter getting photos too. 


Of course, there was a gander of geese floating on the lake. 



On the creepy side, we found this abandoned snake skin.

I'm just glad it was abandoned. Not a fan of snakes, it was bigger than I like to see. 

A much more pleasant critter was the sweet Painted Lady Butterfly.
We saw her at our next destination.

I went a little nuts taking photos. 

She sure liked the nectar on this Teasel flower. She stayed there a long time. 

Interesting how the flowers circle around the cone. 




 Our second destination was Soap Creek, nestled on the west side of McDonald Forest.
Here is Steve headed over the bridge. We discovered that this trail goes up into the forest
rather than down to the creek so we turned around.
But first I had to get a few photos. 

Look at the wild ginger and False Solomon's Seal. People pay money for these gems
and here they are growing contentedly in their natural habitat.
I love that.

There were several fat stems of Veratrum. 



And a carpet of leafy Vancouveria 

Finally we got to our oasis. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present, Soap Creek.
Yes it was a beautiful. 

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I told Steve this would have been a really fun place to come when our kids were little. It's out of the way, shaded the water is clean and shallow. 

There were a few more horticultural gems worth sharing. 

There was a lot of this plant growing alone the creek's shores.
I believe it's Diphylleia cymosa. The leaves were huge. 
 And this sweet gem was all over. It's pink!
I identified it as Stachys cooleyae


Have you been on any photo-worthy outings this summer?

I hope you enjoyed a slice of God's garden. Next week, I'll be back to my little slice of paradise.

20 comments:

  1. Oooooohh, oooooohh, oooooohh what a wonderful post of a delightful outing you had. I loved it all and could just 'feel' being there. I could hear the rippling creek. I love those white flowering weeds and the way they were in the field behind the geese. Wow!!

    All the photos were wonderful.

    Thank you for sharing. I felt like I was on a mini vacation myself.

    Have a great week ~ FlowerLady

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  2. So, so pretty! Did you swipe anything for your yard? :)

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  3. Wonderful trip and you know all the names of plants you've seen Grace! Lovely Soap creek I'm sure your daughter wanted to walk in its water, didn't she? The snake was too long and it's better to not meet it!

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  4. Beautiful place to get some nature! I love the teasel. I have never seen that plant before. Love the way the flowers cicle the cone. The butterfly is also very pretty!

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  5. Grace:
    Gorgeous forest sanctuary, and so close to home. I am not sure that it is Diphylleia - leaves appear to be much more lobed than what I have witnessed. How tall was it? Whatever the case, a wonderful textural gem for a woodland!

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  6. Beautiful post, Grace! I love, love, love Queen Anne's Lace...I'm trying to get it established in my garden...so far, not much luck. I'm a huge Teasel fan as well...they are so wonderful!

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  7. Very thoughtful of the butterfly to pose for you on the equally photogenic teasel. When it comes to landscaping, Mom Nature really know her stuff.

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  8. I think Scott ail be jealous that I have Queen Anne finally visiting my garden , not just one clump . I can see she'll be taking over. I'm waiting for the Teasel next. As the front lawn is now gone , there is plenty of space for invasion !

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  9. How wonderful to have an environment like that so close! My closest local equivalent would be a botanic garden about 20 minutes away. Getting to a forest would require a couple of hours on horrible freeways.

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  10. Oh Grace how lucky you are to have such beautiful places almost on your doorstep. Your weeds are certainly umbifillers but I'm not sure they are ' Queen Anne's Lace' or cow parsley. Whatever they are they are most attractive. Not so sure about the snakeskin though!

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  11. Real Oregon wild beauty in those images Gracie. I'm definitely one of the people who have paid money for those native plants-- I love them. But I need to get a creek. So pretty!

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  12. Hi Gracie Girl !
    What a gorgeous place to walk .. loved the teasel and Queen Anne's Lace is no weed to me .. but the snake skin ? ugh !! LOL
    Love the creek ... reminded me of some of my childhood .. wonderful: )
    Joy

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  13. That's my idea of a fun day! What beautiful countryside.....The color of the sky in your first photo is stunning....it looks aqua. I have such fond memories of picking Queen Anne's Lace as a child and with my kids.....Teasel is pretty well behaved here.....I have some in my small garden under the diningroom windows....I like it. Thanks for sharing.....

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  14. What a beautiful contrast - from the open meadow to the cool, shady creek. Looks like such a fun day. Queen Anne's Lace is a beauty. :o)

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  15. What a beautiful walk Grace. I love walking and looking at all the beauties of nature. I should have had many walks around here by now but the Fibromyalgia keeps me back more lately and I am not liking it. I love the grasses and Queen Anne's Lace. It does remind me that summer is whizzing by way to fast.That little creek is just the spot for children to play. Reminds me of my childhood days of wading and catching crawlfish. LOL! Thanks for sharing your walk.

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  16. Looks like a magical place, and how wonderful it's so close to your house. I often marvel, too, at how plants that people pay top dollar for grow naturally in undisturbed and restored areas. Thanks for taking us along on your outing!

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  17. Great photos, Grace. Your Diphylleia is actually Petasites palmatus, also known as Petasites frigidus var. palmatus. Diphylleia is not native to the Pacific Northwest.

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  18. Nice capture or our state's beauty!

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  19. Just beautiful Grace especially the field of Queen Anne's Lace!

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  20. Now those photos look very much like my Ohio. I do love the look of a prairie. The photos of Queen Anne's Lace just says home to me!

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